Rachel sat in Dr. Reyes' office, the afternoon sun streaming through the window, casting golden light across the cream walls.
This was her fourth session in five days. Dr. Reyes had cleared her schedule, recognizing the crisis for what it was.
"I had a realization last night," Rachel said, her voice steady for the first time all week.
"Tell me."
"I've been so focused on protecting myself from Mac leaving that I never stopped to think, what if I'm the one who leaves?" Rachel's hands were clasped in her lap, knuckles white. "What if I push him away and then I blame him for leaving when really, I did it?"
Dr. Reyes waited, letting Rachel continue.
"Mac's not going anywhere. He's been here the whole time, fighting for me, proving himself. And I keep looking for proof that he'll leave when the real problem is me. I'm the one who doesn't trust. I'm the one who keeps one foot out the door."
Rachel looked up at Dr. Reyes, tears streaming down her face.
"I need to fight for him. The way he fought for me. I need to show him I'm choosing him. Publicly. Vulnerably. The way he chose me."
Dr. Reyes smiled slightly like a rare expression of approval. "What does that look like?"
Rachel thought about Mac bringing her flowers at the library.
"I know exactly what it looks like."
Day Six - Mac
Mac woke up in Cole's guest room to sunlight streaming through unfamiliar curtains.
Six days since he'd slept in his own bed. Six days since he'd woken up next to Rachel.
He rolled over and grabbed his phone. No new messages.
His chest ached with physical pain, like someone had reached in and squeezed his heart.
Downstairs, he found Cole making more terrible eggs.
"You need to stop trying," Mac said, pouring himself coffee. At least Cole could make coffee. "Seriously. Order takeout."
"I'm trying to be agood host."
"You're trying to poison me."
Cole flipped him off but scraped the eggs into the trash.
They sat at the table with coffee.
"Tomorrow's the game against Burlington," Cole said finally.
"I know." Mac took a long drink of coffee. "After the game. That's when I'm doing it."
Cole looked up. "Doing what?"
"Winning her back." Mac pulled out his phone, opening his notes app where he'd been planning for the past two days. "I've got it all figured out. After we win, and we will win, I'm going straight to the library. Sophie's going to make sure Rachel is busy, says she needs help with something."
"Sophie's in on this?"
"Of course Sophie's in on this. I needed backup. Although she was weird about it." Mac scrolled through his notes. "I've got two dozen sunflowers being delivered to the library at 5 PM. Her favorite. Jamie's setting up string lights in the reading nook, the one by the window where we had our first real conversation."
Cole raised an eyebrow. "You've really thought this through."
